by Bella Andre
“I want to hear all about raising twins,” Susan said to Theresa. “I’ve always marveled at parents who manage such a feat.” The way she said it, you wouldn’t have thought she’d raised six kids herself.
Theresa smiled fondly at Kelsey and Tony. “They were easy babies. Great kids.”
Paige shifted next to him, and between them, where no one could see, she squeezed his fingers. Even as wound up as he was over her, the gesture relaxed him.
“People were always so kind,” Theresa continued, speaking more easily with Susan than she did with anyone but the twins. “Especially the man who gave me a job the first day I was in Modesto. I used the last of the money I had for one night at a cheap motel. There was a coffee shop across the street, and I went in to ask for work. The waitress said they weren’t hiring. But there was a man eating at the counter. He said he needed a receptionist if I was interested. And even when I told him I was pregnant, he didn’t retract the offer.”
“You’d finally found a safe haven,” Susan said in a gentle voice.
“It was a miracle,” Theresa agreed.
Susan wasn’t looking at Evan, nor had she been speaking directly to him, but her message was clear nonetheless. In the world of his childhood, kids were left alone for hours. They suffered abuse—physical, verbal, and more. But Susan and Bob’s house hadn’t just been a haven for Evan—it had been equally as miraculous as Modesto had been for Theresa.
Yes, she’d made a terrible choice between him and the twins, but if she’d come home for him first, would any of them have made it out? Or would they all have ended up rotting in that squalid neighborhood, buried by his father’s fists?
* * *
Paige was impressed by Theresa’s story. She’d beaten the odds, and the twins had grown into extraordinary people.
If only she hadn’t left Evan behind.
“I’ve worked for Hugh Cramer’s company ever since,” Theresa was saying.
“He sounds like an amazing man,” Susan said.
Beside Paige, Evan sat still as a stone. His expression was just as unreadable. Paige wondered if the thought of Theresa immediately getting a job in Modesto with an understanding boss bothered Evan. Because if she was settled, if she could easily have come back for him, why hadn’t she?
“Hugh and his wife were wonderful,” Theresa said softly. “They’re both gone, and we all miss them so much.”
“They were like our grandparents,” Kelsey said with fondness brimming over. Tony agreed with just a smile.
“After the twins were born,” Theresa went on, “they knew I was juggling the job and child care, so she would often babysit, and he let me bring the kids in with me. I also needed to keep borrowing money from them.” She glanced at Tony and Kelsey, who smiled encouragingly. “But I paid it all back.” She took a deep breath, one that didn’t seem to do much to center her before she said, “I don’t know how I can ever pay you both back for what you did for Evan.” Her voice was watery, tears obviously close.
Paige felt Evan stiffen beside her. Aching for him, she gave the only thing she could with everyone around them—a gentle brush of his shoulder with hers.
Susan patted Theresa’s leg. “My dear, we’re the ones who have to thank you. It was a privilege to have him.” She looked at Evan with deep emotion shining in her eyes. “We love him with all our hearts.”
“We love all our boys,” Bob said in agreement.
“Look at all those games on the shelf,” Kelsey said, clearly afraid that they were about to degenerate into a tear-fest. “You must have a lot of grandchildren.”
Evan tensed once more, and worry flickered on Susan’s face as she glanced at him. Paige knew they were thinking about the same thing. Whitney and her pregnancy lies. All the grandchildren Susan didn’t have.
Fortunately, Bob jumped in to save them all. “We have one wonderful grandchild from our foster son Matt. Noah is nearly six. We adore him. But Susan and I love to play games in the evening.”
“When you’re not bingeing on Sons of Anarchy,” Paige teased, hoping to lighten the mood. “You even got me addicted to it.”
“When you’re done, you’ve got to try The Walking Dead,” Susan said like an overexcited teenager.
Evan groaned like any son would when embarrassed by a parent, and everyone laughed. Everyone but Theresa, who was carefully watching the interaction between Susan and Evan. Not with jealousy, but with regret.
It was clear to Paige that Theresa wished she could have been the mother Evan needed. But could Evan understand that?
“Why don’t we play a game?” Susan suggested. “How about Skip-Bo?”
“Do not let her con you into playing that,” Bob said. “She wins every time.”
Susan shrugged. “What can I say? I’m lucky at cards.”
“How about Yahtzee?” Paige said, spying the game on the shelf.
“We used to play that a lot,” Tony said.
Theresa smiled. “It was thrifty entertainment.”
“And Tony liked it because he always won,” Kelsey put in. “Even though I’m the numbers girl.”
“Well, you’ll all have some stiff competition with this one.” Bob jerked his thumb at Susan. That was one of the things that Paige loved about the Spencers—the way they teased with such love in their eyes.
They cleared the food remainders off the table, and while everyone was preoccupied with carrying things to the kitchen or sifting through the games on the shelf, Paige drew Evan aside. “How are you doing?”
“I’m fine.”
She growled at him, “You know I hate it when you say fine like that.”
He laughed softly, and she felt a tingle low in her belly. “I’m not going to lie and say this is the easiest social gathering of my life. But it’s a heck of a lot better than last Sunday.”
She wanted to lay her head on his chest, as if listening to his heartbeat would confirm his feelings better than his words could.
“Did it bother you to hear about Theresa’s experiences bringing up Kelsey and Tony in Modesto?”
“A little.” She appreciated his honesty a great deal. Especially knowing what it cost him. “But it also cleared up a few things.”
She smiled at him. “I’m so glad you feel that way.”
When he returned the smile, she wanted so badly to kiss him. Right then and there in the middle of Susan and Bob’s living room. With everyone watching. Soon, she hoped. Soon, leaning in to kiss him in front of everyone would be as natural as breathing.
“Thank you for coming here this weekend.” He brushed a lock of hair from her cheek. “I can’t imagine doing any of this without you.” His fingertips lingered on her face. “I wouldn’t want to.”
She melted on the inside. Not just from his caress, but from the amazing things he’d said. His gaze on her burned with desire, tracing her face, sweeping down to her lips, as if he imagined putting his mouth on hers.
Before she could put voice to any of her swirling, growing feelings—or steal the kiss she could practically taste—Tony called out, “You any good at Yahtzee, Evan?”
“Wait and see,” Evan said with a smirk.
“Sorry in advance when I crush you, bro.”
By the grin that spread over Evan’s face, Paige knew how much he liked it when his bro egged him on.
Still, Paige’s stomach twisted. Because once she and Whitney had grown into teenagers, they’d never had that kind of relationship. And now they never would.
“Paige?” Looking back up into Evan’s eyes, she saw concern deepening the hazel color. “Are you okay? You look upset.”
He’d been honest with her. She could do no less with him. “I was thinking about Whitney. How we were never very good together as sisters.”
“You were.” His words were impassioned. “You were the best sister she could ever have hoped for. It’s her fault she never knew how to love you the way you loved her.”
With his heartfelt words, Paige felt a spell weav
ing itself around just the two of them, drawing them closer and deeper together.
“Time to get your caffeine fix,” Susan called out, carrying two carafes while Bob carted a tray of mugs and cream and sugar. Theresa followed with a big plate of cookies.
Even then, the spell didn’t break. Because Paige could still feel the threads of attraction—and strong emotion—connecting them.
* * *
The game was fabulous. They laughed and cursed and groaned and had a marvelous time with each roll of the dice.
“You can’t use a calculator.” Tony snorted at his sister when she fished one out of her purse.
“I’m an accountant. We do everything better with calculators.”
“I’m not touching that one with a ten-foot pole.” Bob’s eyes widened to saucer size.
Everyone laughed. Even Theresa. And she wasn’t the only one having a good time. At long last, something seemed to let loose in Evan too.
Was it spending time with his new siblings?
Was it realizing that the ghost of his mother wasn’t nearly as horrible in real life as it had been in his head all these years?
Or was it the bond Paige felt growing moment by moment between herself and Evan?
He rolled and one of the dice fell off the table. He leaned down to get it, searching on the carpet, but somehow found her leg instead, his hand gliding up the half boots she wore, as if he hadn’t been able to resist touching her.
Paige flushed, almost gasping out loud at the sensual touch.
When he finally came back up with the die, Susan pointed a finger at him and said, “You better watch out for him.”
Paige’s heart stopped beating. Does Susan know?
“He was always the quiet one, our Evan,” Susan continued. “But then you’d find he’d done something tricky, like switching out the dice under the table.”
Evan let his mouth drop open. “Me?”
“Yes, you.” She was laughing as she said, “You were our little prankster. Remember that time you put a frog in my apron pocket?”
“That was because you made us all watch The Sound of Music.” He looked around the coffee table, grinning as he said, “Seriously. Five teenage boys watching Maria flirt with Captain von Trapp?”
“So you’re saying Evan was incorrigible?” Kelsey asked.
Susan nodded happily. “Totally.”
He looked at Paige. “You’ve known me all these years. You could defend me, you know.”
“Actually,” Paige said with a wicked little grin, “I’d rather Susan and Bob tell us more stories about their little prankster.”
It turned out there was no end to the mischief Evan had caused.
There was the time he’d put the goldfish in the toilet while he cleaned the fishbowl. “How was I supposed to know Matt wasn’t going to look down?”
And the time he painted the windows shut. “Daniel was the one who was good with his hands. No one told me I was supposed to tape first.”
“And what about when you put the hammer through the wall while you were hanging a picture for me?” Susan’s smile was fond with the memory.
“The walls were like tissue paper,” Evan protested. “The hammer just followed the nail right through.”
“And you didn’t know your own strength,” Bob added.
“Exactly. But how did you two know about that? Daniel helped me patch it up so it looked like new.”
Susan laughed. “Lyssa.”
“That little tattletale,” Evan grumbled, but there was light in his eyes for the youngest Spencer. All the Mavericks had a soft spot for her.
Paige wondered if those small incidents had been Evan’s way of acting out like a normal kid—especially considering he’d grown up with a father who wouldn’t let the slightest transgression pass, even if it was an accident. If so, Susan and Bob had taken it all in stride. They told the vignettes with a smile, a laugh, and, from Susan, sometimes a little swat at Evan. Meanwhile, he and Tony kept racking up the points on their Yahtzee scorecards.
“I’m so glad Evan had such a wonderful family to live with.” Theresa clutched the cup to her chest before she shook out the dice.
Susan’s eyes softened with emotion. “We’re so glad to have you and Tony and Kelsey with us now too.”
Susan had more than enough love to share. She would never be jealous of Theresa’s sudden return.
As for Evan, he didn’t seem to be as tense or upset. Paige wanted to believe he was enjoying this. But what did he truly feel?
She longed to get him alone to find out. Longed just to be alone with him. Even though that was bound to be impossible this weekend with family all around.
Still, she had faith that more magic would happen between them soon. Magic so powerful that he wouldn’t be able to walk away this time.
In the meantime, she was delighting in all the things she was learning about him. With their scorecards almost filled and Evan neck and neck with Tony, the intensity of the game punched up. There was whooping and hollering with every throw.
“I’ve still got a really good chance against you two,” Kelsey groused as she took her throw. And came up with zilch.
“Hah!” Tony crowed.
She leaned over to rap his arm lightly. “I’ll get you next time.” Paige sensed the love there, the deep twin bond.
Then it was Evan’s turn. “You’re going down, dude,” he boasted to Tony as he shook and threw, then punched the air when he rolled four fives. “Gotcha.”
“No way. I still beat you.” Tony pointed to his scorecard, then Evan’s, and punched the air too.
“Let me double-check.” Kelsey grabbed the two cards.
“Now don’t cheat just because he’s your brother,” Evan warned.
She wrinkled her nose at him. “You’re my brother too.”
Evan leaned in. “But he’s your twin,” he emphasized.
The three siblings were so easy with each other, as if they’d known one another for years. Evan laughed and joked and teased. God, it was so good to see him smile, especially with his family. Paige caught Susan’s eye, and she was sure she saw the mist of happy tears there. This trip had truly been an engineering masterpiece. Even Theresa was smiling as she gazed at all three of her children.
“I declare it a tie,” Kelsey said. “And we’re going to need a rematch so I can beat the pants off both of you.”
They were all competitive, but what Maverick wasn’t? Tony and Kelsey clicked with Susan, Bob and Evan as if they’d been born Mavericks.
With the game finished, Susan announced, “I’m starving. Let’s take a dinner break.” Then she said that she and Bob were going to make grilled cheese sandwiches.
“My favorite,” Evan said as he hugged her off her feet. “I’ll help you.”
As the two of them headed off to the kitchen, Paige watched Theresa, looking for signs of jealousy over Evan’s relationship with his foster mom. It would be natural, as much as it would be a consequence of her own actions.
“I’m very glad you and the twins came,” Paige said as an icebreaker.
Theresa turned, a sheen in her eyes. “I am too. Susan and Bob took such good care of him. He obviously loves them very much.”
“All the Mavericks do.” Throughout the game, Susan had talked of her other foster sons and of her own children. “Susan and Bob have a lot of love to give.”
“So does Evan,” Theresa said in a soft voice, one that was filled with so much longing it nearly broke Paige’s heart.
She wished she had the right words to make it better. Something more than, “This trip is a good start.” One small step on what Paige hoped was the road to forgiveness.
Theresa clasped her hands, as if in prayer. “He seems to really be bonding with the twins. I’ll be patient. It can’t happen in one weekend.”
Paige felt a great kinship with Theresa in that moment.
Because patience where Evan’s heart was concerned was something Paige knew all too well.
* * *
After they’d eaten, Evan said, “It’s been a great day, but I’ve got a few things to take care of before bed. I’ve got a room at a local hotel so I won’t crowd anyone out. I’ll see everyone in the morning for breakfast.” He pulled Susan beneath his arm. “You haven’t eaten breakfast until you’ve had Susan’s eggs Benedict.”
“Paige,” Susan said suddenly, “it would probably be best if you stayed at the hotel too.”
Paige couldn’t hide her surprise at this suggestion. A beat later, however, she wondered if this was Susan’s way of not only saying she approved of what might be going on between her and Evan, but also giving them a helping hand in making it happen.
Still looking at Susan as if she’d just lost her mind, Evan said, “There’s always been plenty of room here for Paige before.”
She wanted to smack him, even if he was running scared after the three deliriously glorious kisses they’d shared. But she wanted to hug Susan.
Especially when she said, “The bathrooms will be crowded when we’re all trying to get ready in the morning. Not to mention the hot water with all those showers.”
With that, Evan didn’t have a single excuse left.
While everyone hugged Evan good-bye for the night—even Theresa, who, miracle of miracles, he didn’t push away—Susan gave Paige a hug.
In a low voice, she said, “He needs to decompress and talk through the day’s events. This has been a big step for him.”
“I know.” Paige nodded. “I’ll make sure he doesn’t hold it all in.”
“Thank you, honey. I can always trust you to take care of him. And I know he’ll always be there for you too.”
Susan could have simply been talking about their friendship. But Paige was certain that she heard something more in his foster mother’s words.
Something that sounded a lot like love.
Chapter Twenty-One
Thank God the hotel had another room available. Because if they’d had to share a room…
Evan didn’t have one damn ounce of willpower left after sitting next to Paige all day, surrounded by her fragrance, her heat, her voice, her laughter. Just the five-minute drive to the hotel had been almost more than he could bear.
